Orchestrator Joseph Joubert Is the Man Deciding What The Wiz Sounds Like in the 21st Century

“I can do a little taste of something from the show,” Joseph Joubert tells Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek after chatting about The Wiz for The Broadway Show. Joubert, arranger and orchestrator for the musical’s Broadway revival—opening at the Marquis Theatre this April—sits casually at the piano and says, “I’ll see where my fingers fall.” What comes out is a virtuosic rendition of the show’s famous 11 o’clock number, “Home”—a nonchalant display of his skill and experience, which he now lends to Charlie Smalls’ culturally entrenched score.

The Wiz, a Black retelling of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, debuted on Broadway in 1975 and featured orchestrations by Harold Wheeler—a Special Tony Award winner for Lifetime Achievement and an artist Joubert cites as one of his mentors. He also names Quincy Jones, the music producer for the 1978 film adaptation, as another pivotal influence. Now, Joubert stands on the ground those two artists help lay as he determines The Wiz’s 21st-century sound.

Often, that means leaning into the talents of his cast. “Our Evillene, Melody Betts, is out of this world,” he says, “so we go gospel with ‘No Bad News.’” Anticipating the counterargument, he specifies, “Even in the original it was gospel. But this is a real gospel thing—if that makes sense.” Joubert similarly teases a new modulated version of Glinda’s song, “He’s the Wizard.” “There hasn't been a version like this. We designed it specifically for Deborah Cox.” Coyly, he adds, “That's all I'm going to tell you right now.” Joubert also talks about reinserting “Wonder, Wonder Why,” a cut song from the 1984 version of the show. “Diana Ross recorded it, but didn't put it in the movie,” he notes. “So we shortened the song and just made it a short, concise arrangement. And Nichelle,” he continues, referencing the show’s star, Nichelle Lewis. “You can't hear her sing it without crying. I promise you.”

And then, of course, are his instrumentalists. “I'll have a 19-piece orchestra,” he says excitedly. “And I can have a few real strings. I mean—who has a string section these days?” It’s the cherry on top of an already indulgent sundae of music and performers that make his job a dream come true. “When I'm at home orchestrating, I'm like, ‘Oh my God, am I really doing this?’” His awe, however, is met with well-earned confidence. “I feel like I've been in the business and I've got enough musical genres in my brain and my DNA from people I've worked with through the years,” says Joubert.

After all, his first Broadway credit dates back to 1983 when he served as assistant musical director for the short-lived gospel musical called Amen Corner. “It was an African-American cast, but not creative team,” he recalls, naming Dunn Pearson, a co-orchestrator for the production, as the sole exception. “That was my intro,” he says, looking back on the experience as he now sits among a team of Black artists from director Schele Williams to book writer Amber Ruffin to choreographer JaQuel Knight. “For me, it's full circle to be able to be on this team so that some young African-American arranger will look at me one day and say, ‘I can do this too.’”